By nature, unpleasant odors are generated in a toilet bowl and have no other way out other than through the top of the toilet bowl due to its gaseous nature. Accordingly, such unpleasant odors adversely impact the air surrounding the toilet and, ultimately, the overall air quality of a bathroom in which the toilet is located. Conventional approaches for controlling odors in bathrooms include scented aerosol dispensers, scented tablets, room ventilation systems and the like.
Such conventional approaches for controlling odors in bathrooms are known to have limitations that adversely affect their effectiveness and/or practicality. One limitation is that unpleasant odors that originate in an area of a particular toilet bowl are allowed to migrate into or are drawn into other areas of a bathroom, thus adversely impacting the overall air quality of the bathroom. Another limitation is that some people dislike or are allergic to perfumed scents of aerosol sprays and tablets commonly used to cover-up unpleasant odors in bathrooms. Still another limitation is that some bathrooms are not physically situated or constructed in a manner where a window or fan can be provided for facilitating ventilation of such bathrooms. Many bathrooms are equipped with a ceiling vent that is meant to draw odors out of the bathroom. However, this solution for controlling odor is frequently inadequate because very large volumes of room air must be exhausted in order to dissipate odors that are actually concentrated in and about the toilet bowl.
Some known toilet bowl odor removing systems require that the system be attached to a wall mounted electrical outlet, which may be undesirable. For instance, a wall outlet may not be conveniently located near the toilet bowl; many people find a power cord, running through their bathroom, aesthetically displeasing; many people feel that a power cord, connected to a wall power outlet and attached to a water filled appliance, is dangerous; it is expensive and difficult to add a 120 Volt power outlet at the toilet location, especially if the walls are covered with ceramic tile or marble etc; parents of small children may be concerned that the children may pull on the power cord thus creating a dangerous situation and possibly damaging the attached apparatus. Some known toilet bowl odor removing systems have fans which make noise. Many people do not want the noise to be present at all times. Thus there is a need to limit the time the fan runs to reduce the amount of noise produced by the fan.
Therefore, an automatic control and battery power supply that overcomes the above listed and other disadvantages associated with bathroom odor control devices would be desirable.